"But if they called me, I would go running." Antonio Valencia spoke bluntly while working as a World Cup pundit for Telemundo Deportes, saying he would drop everything to return to Manchester United and to link up again with Michael Carrick.
Valencia — a captain and a decade-long fixture at Old Trafford from 2009 to 2019 — reminded listeners of the bond that binds him to the club. "Yes, I would go back. Manchester United is a club that gave me so much," he said, adding: "My family was very happy there. I would work for Manchester United in any role, out of passion. It is a club I love a lot. I think everything they are doing is going well."
The claim carries weight because Valencia left a long record at United: he featured 339 times for the club, scored 25 goals, and won two Premier League titles, several domestic cups and a Europa League trophy. He retired in 2021 after almost 500 career appearances and has since moved into broadcasting, appearing on Telemundo Deportes' World Cup panel.
Valencia also spoke directly about Carrick, with whom he wants to reconnect. "I sent him a message wishing him success," he said. "Carrick is someone I respect and care about a lot. I wished him success as a coach, and I think it has gone well for him." Valencia said he was "happy that Carrick was going into another season on the bench," a reference to the manager’s formal appointment last month after a productive interim spell that helped steer the team back into the Champions League and to a third-place Premier League finish.
That public loyalty — and the willingness to return "in any role" — is the story's friction point. Valencia offered to come back and said he would link up with Carrick, but he did not say United had contacted him, and no outreach or offer has been disclosed. The former winger framed his availability as a personal choice rooted in affection rather than a negotiated appointment.
For supporters, the remarks land as an invitation. For club officials, they are a low-cost reminder that a respected former captain is both willing and available. For Valencia, the comments are an open expression of where his loyalties lie while he continues his broadcast work at the World Cup.
The immediate unanswered question is straightforward: will Manchester United answer Valencia's offer, and if so, what role would they propose? Valencia has made his stance plain; whether the club will pick up the phone is the next act that will decide if this is a short media flourish or the start of a reunion at Old Trafford.
